Pros
The recruiter and hiring manager were warm, responsive, and professional throughout the process. The team was genuinely pleasant to interact with, and the trial day had a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. The company itself is doing interesting work in the gaming space I care about deeply.
Cons
• The role was advertised as "Community & PR Expert" and required a minimum of 6 years of experience, yet internally it appeared to be structured as and called a Community & PR Specialist.
• The process involved an interview with a recruiter, a take-home assignment, an interview with a hiring manager (CMO), and a 4-hour trial day - a significant time investment, especially for candidates currently employed full-time who need to take time off work. The lengthy 6-page case study was never discussed during the hiring manager call, which raised questions about how much weight it actually carried in the decision.
• The rejection feedback cited a lack of "independent execution," "confidence," and "creative decisiveness" but the trial day consisted of lunch and a team presentation, with no opportunity to actually demonstrate those qualities. Without concrete examples to support that feedback, it reads as vague and difficult to learn from.
• The overall process spanned nearly 2 months, the rejection alone took another 1,5 weeks after the trial day, which felt inconsiderate of the candidate's time.
Advice to Management
Consider aligning your job titles with the actual seniority level you're hiring for. Be transparent about how each stage of the process is evaluated. Make sure the evaluation criteria reflect what those stages were actually designed to test. Regarding this position: a PR Director reporting directly to the CEO would arguably serve the company's ambitions better than the current structure.